A lush riverfront community
Almost everywhere one looks in Woolwich, they’re greeted with a lush green landscape of towering trees. This is a rustic Maine town characterized in large part by its wide open spaces — where the median lot size is over 2 acres. Yet this is the type of area where everyone knows each other, relationships bonded by their experience of living on a tranquil Mid-Maine peninsula, one where crime ranks well below the national average according to the CAP Index. “It’s a town where everyone will get to know each other’s names pretty quickly,” says Julie A. Cromwell, owner of Woolwich-based Cromwell Coastal Properties.
Outdoor recreation options abound
Woolwich is surrounded by Merrymeeting Bay and the Kennebec, Sasanoa and Back Rivers, so fun on the water is easy to find. But there’s also plenty of hiking to be had in the area. Anglers can venture out onto the Kennebec River, for instance, to catch everything from striped bass to mackerel to even bluefin tuna. Area resident Chris Grill owns the business Kennebec Angler, which operates fishing charters on the river. “The river is amazing,” says Grill, who has fished on the Kennebec since he was 13 years old. “My business, I take people fishing. Sometimes they just want to go for a ride on the river, and that’s money well spent, too.”
Hikers can catch river views from spots like the 125-acre Merrymeeting Fields Preserve, which doubles as a place for cross-country skiing in the winter — Woolwich can get more than 60 inches of snow in a year. The Coffin Wildflower Reservation is another place for a stroll by the river when the weather is nice, a 177-acre space littered with more than 100 wildflower species.
Nequasset Park is another well-liked spot, particularly for swimmers, right along the banks of the Sasanoa River. Nequasset features a boat launch, too, and adventurers can paddle from here up into the 392-acre Nequasset Lake, slightly to the north. Ice fishing is permitted by Nequasset Park, too.
Plenty of space to breathe
Woolwich has its share of classic colonial-style homes with high-pitched roofs built around the turn of the 20th century. But there’s also an assortment of Cape Cods, ranch-style homes and new traditional designs scattered about, some built after the turn of the 20th century. What properties around Woolwich share is that they come with sizable lots — multiple acres aren’t uncommon, and the median size here is 2.1 acres. Homes here line winding, narrow country roads, many shaded by massive trees. Price tags for homes in Woolwich typically range from the mid-$100,000s to the $500,000s depending on size and condition, but there are some particularly expansive outliers here that can sell for more than $1 million.
Bath is best bet for community gatherings
Woolwich locals can head across the Kennebec River to nearby Bath to enjoy an assortment of community events. Bath’s annual traditions include a summer concert series at Library Park, held mostly on Tuesday and Friday evenings from June to September. Library Park also hosts periodic movies in the park events. Bath is home to an ATV parade featuring Santa Claus and Mrs. Clause in mid-December, too, and Bath’s WinterFest in February features the Lantern Parade, a nighttime spectacle featuring all manner of homemade decorative lanterns.
Grab a meal at Montsweag
U.S. Route 1 is the main commercial thoroughfare cutting through Woolwich, bordered by assorted businesses. The list includes The Montsweag Restaurant, which has been in place since 1939 and draws not just Woolwich locals but also people from surrounding areas. The Montsweag Restaurant is known in part for its seafood, including its haddock sandwiches and its assorted lobster dishes, like lobster rolls and lobster mac and cheese. “Everybody likes that,” Grill says. “That’s very popular. People from Bath and Arrowsic definitely go to Montsweag.” Route 1 also includes spots like Georgetown Pottery, which has been selling handmade creations since 1972, and Clipper Mart, a convenience store. Locals can keep going along Route 1 into Bath for grocery shopping, at Shaw’s.
Regional system serves local students
Kids in Woolwich can attend schools in Regional School Unit 1, which covers Arrowsic, Bath, Phippsburg and Woolwich. Students in Woolwich can go to Woolwich Central School for prekindergarten through eighth grade, which has a B-minus overall grade on Niche and extracurricular activities ranging from a run club to a school newspaper. The B-minus-rated Morse High is next, which has an active drama program staging multiple productions each year.
Rove around with Route 1
Route 1 is the primary transportation asset in Woolwich, connecting residents here to not just Bath but also to Interstate 295. I-295 can take commuters down to Portland, Maine’s largest city, about three dozen miles away. The Maine Department of Transportation undertook a project in 2022 to raise parts of Route 1 by several feet to help fend off the threat of flooding that comes with Woolwich’s coastal location.
Written By
Wayne Epps Jr.
Photography Contributed By
Jason Veilleux
